Similarities of Race and Ethnicity - Essay Example

? RACE AND ETHNI RACE AND ETHNI Race and ethni are almost one and the same thing. These two terms are majorly used to distinguish people of different color. It is especially used to classify individuals based on their culture, religion, ethnic, genetic and geographic connection. There are many kinds of races and ethnicities in the world that create a difference from one geographic area to another. Countries have become interconnected over the years and there has been lots of travel, migration and mingling of all sorts that have made the presence of all races all over the world. People are conscious of their races and ethnicity and is hard to erase it out of their minds. That is why people in environments of mixed races and ethnicities will always struggle to fit and in doing, so they try as much as possible to be around people of their races and ethnicities because they feel safe and comfortable in those zones (Ansell & John, 2006). The New York Times has a story on race and ethnicity. The story is entitled Purple Boots, Silver Stars ... and White Parents, and was published in 13th October 2013. This story has a baseline of a transracial adoption. That parent had adopted two kids that were African American. The adopter parents were whites and reside in Brooklyn's neighborhood. This state is obviously known for its inhabitants as whites. However, over the years, it has become a cosmopolitan, and its residents are trying to live with each other as one. However, despite the efforts that people put in trying to live as one, the sense of race and ethnicity still does not escape them (Frank, 2013). In this story, there is some center called Fulton mall that this parent would take this kid to go shopping and interacting. Fulton mall is a center that people do not only go shopping but also socializing, chatting, listening to music and catching up with friends. The mall is majorly frequented by the blacks. The parent took the kids to the mall and whenever they approached the place, the kids were seen to give distance to the parents. The kids would be seen to walk and behave in some way that showed that they were trying to fit in the group. The kids also dressed in a way that suggested growth and understanding of the environment. The kid had earlier on been bought foe some classy and cool clothes and shoes that they chose to go show off at Fulton mall. The kids choosing Fulton mall showed that they felt some sense of belonging in the mall as they got to interact with people of their race. They were seen to be free and to have fun in the mall and never at any time thought of introducing the foster parents as their parents. They seem uncomfortable with the white parent in public and would rather keep distance, something that the adoptive parent understands (Ansell & John, 2006). In life, people will always try to develop some sense of identity in them. The sense of this identity has been divided into two, which are the horizontal and vertical identities. The vertical type is the one that is mainly inherited from the parents. Example is race and religion. In transracial adoption, the parents are always white and the kids are majorly black. For kids raised in a family of a different race, they are much aware that the adoptive parents are not their parents because of the racial difference. Such kids are aware and always wish they were not black or that their parents were not white instead. Such kids will always try to find their originality by digging deep into the facts behind their adoption (Spencer, 2006). The horizontal identity, on the other hand, is one that comes with the difference that exists between people. In such identity, people look at their environments for the sake of getting support, culture and even subculture. This mode of identity seeking involves one involving themselves with their surrounding but outside the strings of the family. The writer states that adoptees will always desire to stay close to adoptees of the same race. The knowledge of being adopted never escapes them and will always be in their minds. In this case, we find the adoptees of the white parent when in Fulton mall, they identify groups of some young blacks and approach them since they feel like they share much in common and want to get to know more about people of their races. Culture gives a sense of identity. It is clear that by a white adopting a kid of a different race like, for example, a black, a Chinese or a Korean, the writer of the story states that culture is ‘murdered in the process. Culture to some point is inborn. A kid of a different race from the parents will always feel insecure culture wise. No matter how much they try to fit into a different culture; it still does not escape them that they are of a different race and will always struggle to get to know the culture of its people. It gets tough trying to fit into two cultures. It confuses an individual so much that the weak ones end up giving up with trying to fit in one they are not of (Ansell & John, 2006; Frank, 2013). Furthermore, in the story, the writer, who is the adoptee’s parent recalls some day when one of the kids misbehaved and caused some commotion in public. The kid became a problem such that the parent had to use force to drag her across the streets. The writer recalls some black lady approaching them and asking the kid, whether the person dragging her was her parents. She asked her twice. That showed that people of the same race are protective of each other and will always get concerned when someone of another race seems to be harassing or abusing someone of their race. The writer insists that the adoptive parents, if by any chance are white and the kids are black, the parent should stay in touch with the original parent, that is the biological parent to avoid killing the culture of that kid. However, in real life, an adoptive parent will always want the adopted kid to lose touch completely with their parents since they feel they are the parents of the kid and that the kid needs to learn to stay with them (Spencer, 2006). References Ansell, A. & John, S., (2006). Race and ethnicity the key concepts. Routledge, Taylor & Francis ltd, print. Frank, L., (0ctober 13, 2013). “Purple Boots, Silver Stars and White Parents”. New York Times. Spencer, S., (2006). Race and Ethnicity Identity, Culture and Society. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis Ltd, Print. Read More